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Yep. He could be as good as Klindt.

The deal that the BSPA have with BT is not worth it. A few promoters argued this at the time and I was one who thought it was imperative that speedway in the UK had a tv deal. Now I have changed my mind and believe BSPA should pull out of the deal and get a streaming channel up and running for next season. The BT deal brings in no money. In fact it costs clubs as the hosting club loses revenue when BT are in town. Unless BT come in with a deal similar to what Sky were paying, then time to say goodbye. In its place, a monthly subscription to a streaming service. £20 a month for 2 live meetings a week, one from the Prem and one from the Championship, as well as behind the scenes shows, interviews, q&a sessions live where fans can ask questions to riders/promoters etc, which are being produced by companies such as speedway portal. The money is then divided up between clubs. This will bring in far more than BT are offering. Promoters may think they would lose money as fans would watch online and not attend. But I wouldn't’ attend Belle Vue v Swindon but would pay a subscription to watch it. And then clubs would benefit. There would be no problem having video companies do the streaming. I bet Pete Ballinger or Speedway Portal would be keen as mustard to get the chance. Thoughts?

If speedway went in house that’s pretty much where it will stay, only current fans would get to see it and personally I wouldn’t purchase it, I can see a tiny financial benifit for speedway itself but no sponsor in their right mind would be interested as it has no audience, I do think BT is selling us a bit short with the money but that’s totally our own fault, BT deal in millions v speedway deal in peanuts, no wonder who the winner is there, we have the perfect platform and get decent viewing figures but we can’t get our own house in order, we need to turn the viewing figures into punters on the terraces and we will never do that with in house filming, we have to be out there in the big wide world

Nice short trip for the Berwick bus lol. Not easy to control the dust in such a heat but there was no lack of effort in trying to. £2-50 for a can of Stella no complaints from the Berwick fans haha for all the people that questioned why Redcar got the meeting the answer was there yesterday. Well done to all involved proper speedway how it used to be when you go home with a black face and you have had a great day.

to the person in the stand at yesterdays fours meeting and was hurling abuse at richie worrall,for goodness sake, get off his case.he knows that this season hasn't ,to his standards, been one of his best but he was trying his heart out yesterday and berating him like you did, which he obviously heard due to his response,does absolutely nothing for a riders confidence so just cut him some slack and if you are a true supporter then do what the name suggests.SUPPORT your team.

So will people be calling for him to get a ban like they did for Jack Holder last year ?

what a cracking day out at the fours yesterday.redcar put on a fabulous meeting on only their first staging.my team gave it a really good go and although didn't quite make the final it didn't distract from a great final with all in all some superb very close racing.a huge well done to the redcar promotion and i hope that it will be staged by them again next season.well done.

Unfortunately the event and its importance or otherwise was 2nd fiddle due to international calender priority being with Poland for Sundays

Would just like to add my congratulations to Redcar for their staging of the fours considering was the first time the promotion had put on such a major event from a spectators point of view it all seemed to go very smoothly and Redcar have silenced any critics how said the event would be a flop because of the move from its traditional home. With BSPA vice chairman Rob Godfrey stating in the program that in future they intend to move some major events around year on year I can't see Redcar getting the event next year ( Though in my opinion they put up a good argument they should) the Redcar promotion have set the bar very high for who ever does host the fours next year

For as long as I’ve been going we have always had a problem bringing in new fans in any kind of significant numbers. Twenty years ago we were already down to the hardcore fan base and it has taken a lot of work to drive them away. These fans were dyed in the wool types with a sense of fairplay and moral values passed down by their parents, parents who had seen the country pull together during the war. The other thing about these fans is they didn’t like change or new ideas. Play offs, jokers and the like really turned these fans off whilst they also failed to bring in newbies. The cheating and rule bending so prevalent this century also made it difficult to get behind it as a sporting contest. The result is no new fans whilst actively pushing away the anorak, board waving diehards. Like I say it’s taken a lot of effort to prize these guys from their anoraks but unbelievable they did it. Now we’re bollocked, there is no getting away from it. We are no longer in a position where tweaks will do, we need to draw a line under it, take stock and start from scratch - with the wishes of the current fan base paramount. We no longer have anyone within the sport capable of doing this and if the current bunch don’t relinquish control then speedway as a professional sport in this country will end.

Exactly, if you think of the locations of the teams that race in this league then it is probably the fairest location for all teams

Southern fans don't seem to like to travel North for some reason - although there were a few Panthers fans there. You would have enjoyed it if you had made the effort Excellent contingents from Berwick, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle. Nice for the Northern tracks not to have to travel massive distances for a change.

I don’t. He spent 95% of his time on here being abusive to nearly all and sundry. Puts himself on some kind of pedestal when in fact he is nothing more than a speedway fan, like the rest of us. Calling people names in virtually every post that are brimming with venom. Not a nice person.

My first visit to Redcar and very impressed with the racing on the track. Plenty of food and drink outlets, plenty of toilets, meant no races missed due to standing in queues (please take note Somerset). Decent prices and not over charged like some venues. Sadly the days are gone where you need to accommodate 4-5,000 fans for a shared event, so no excuses why the likes of Redcar shouldn't host events like this. Dust yes, but unavoidable, given the temperatures. Overall, would say well done Redcar, a lot of other clubs and venues would do well to look and learn.

Like I said to you . You tell him you seem to know everything I only know he rode at poole in which what I said !!!

Surely we are due another article in the adver with Tomlinson and Osbourne wearing hard hats and stood next to a digger saying big progress has been made. These mofos aint fooling anyone.

Is that right?

A thoroughly enjoyable day :) Well organised with plenty of useful advice both in advance and at the meeting itself. Plenty of food and drink outlets and a track that was wonderfully prepared. Particularly when you consider the conditions, which were wonderful for enjoying the day but not so much for keeping the dust at bay. I did wonder about how it would work at Redcar but it was excellent so well done to all involved. Well done Panthers

And ended up pretty much going vegan

Full plaudits to Redcar Speedway, great organisation, fascilities, parking, race track, etc Surely silenced the doubters. Dust (not as bad as I expected) was unavoidable under the blistering sun but the track staff did a great job Congratulations to the (no home track advantage) Panthers, deserved winners Superb effort our Monarchs, totally unexpected. Erik 1 of only 2 unbeaten riders.... superb!!!

Whilst 6 out of 8 is far from being a success, it seems to be only Rye House and Belle Vue who can't make it pay currently. Like you say, I think the fixed race nights has obviously had a massive impact but there is other big problems too. Surely they could of announced that last week? "There is negiogations ongoing. We will update you further when we can confirm more news." All they've done now is alienate and pi$$ off what fans they do have left.

Definitely not the fans fault - promotions total failure to promote the sport and the bit that gets me and this is the reason I’ve not been to Kings Lynn for over a year is being totally taken for granted .

It isn’t the fault of the fans that the sport in this country is a shambles.

Don't tell thm that Taps - the Panties are looking for blood, not content with pulling off a win yesterday.

Great day well organised plenty off extra car parking and additional catering/Pop up Bars/Ice Cream vans etc etc. The track was well prepared and made for some excellent racing right up to the 35th heat. Well done to Kevin Keay for taking this on at Redcar and giving everyone a great day.

Anything to add ?

Best track prep arrangement was at Rye House probably about 2003/4 when Len Silver employed two small tractors, one with a small bowser on the back and the other one with a flat grader. After each heat, and whilst the riders were leaving the circuit on bend 1, the two tractors come out of bend 4 centre green and did a quick couple of circuits just before the next race riders were coming out onto the track. They took no extra time, but the condition and preparation was the same for all 15 heats. Only time I have ever seen such good preparation. Unfortunately it probably can't be done now, as the tractors were ready on the centre green area and also entered the track whilst riders were either leaving or entering the circuit. "Elf and Safety you know.

Never spoken to Starman and it isn't on my to do list!!

I wasn’t thrilled that Redcar we’re hosting this as I thought Peterborough with its open grass spaces was better equipped, but Redcar Speedway did a fine job. One criticism would be the lack of speakers on the back straight. Very difficult to hear team changes and line ups. I appreciate that the back straight isn’t normally open to spectators, but surely some temporary speakers on the centre green could’ve been arranged? Food and drink a bargain compared to rip off EOES and I think parking may have been free, compared to the Showgrounds £2. The dust was unavoidable on such a hot day.

Glad to here you guys down there are finally buying into this loyalty lark. Well done. Approve.

Many Dinosaurs will regard your post as grossly offensive as they regard themselves as a lot more forward thinking than BSPA

I'd be happy to pay for a streaming show. Crowds aren't going up so the TV deal isn't working.

TV is a must to keep in with current sports and of course give it maximum exposure especially for sponsors.

Pay per view will make the sport even smaller and insignificant.

With all due respect if the fan pay's his hard earned to travel he can criticise if he thinks that is the best way to vent his frustration. Whilst I don't condone verbal abuse I can understand his frustration as Richie has been nothing short of woeful this season. So no telling someone to get off his case when he can really do as he pleases is a bit off , I am just surprised Richie is still riding for us thus far, as a number 1 it has been woeful to watch most of the time.

Yes , just like the BSPA wanted Ged's blood last year.

What I don’t understand is this, and maybe this is why RH are in such mess, The new owners buy the club of Mr Silver then put some one in charge who has no experience in Speedway ie Steve Jensen he seems absolutely clueless but why wouldn’t he he’s never been involved in Speedway, do you think RH would be in such a state if they had employed Colin Pratt,

What BT payments?

It’s pretty obvious the problems at Rye House stem from the move to fixed night racing. Attendances down over 50% would kill any club. Unless the BSPA relent I fear there will be no more Rye House Rockets this year and perphaps for ever. Add to that some of the extraordinary pay deals some of the riders are rumoured to be on, the loss of the Sky TV deal and the infrequent meetings. I’ll be surprised if we’re not the only club in trouble.

Don't think Daytripper is a Panthers fan, face facts Jenga, you are a pillock.

Just want to say a big thank you to Redcar for a well organised event. There was quite a few good races and also the track must of been hard to prepare with the baking sun etc.Well done the Panties on the victory and was very suprised with the Monarchs efforts and well done to them.A good day all in all.

BUT the SGP gets much closer to it than any World Final did, could or would.

Well you tell him what he wants to know then nit picking as usual give it a rest

Really impressed with Josh Pickering. Lovely relaxed style.

Well from a Redcar point of view whilst disappointed that the Bears didn’t qualify (particularly after making such a good start) I thought it couldn’t have gone much better. Obviously there was a lot of dust but given almost a week of unremitting sun I thought the track held up remarkably well. When it’s that dry you expect it to be first out of the gate processions but there were some fabulous races and spectacular action. Congratulations to the Panthers who had strength in depth, Glasgow unlucky not to finish second after Harris EF on the last lap (couple of fantastic races from him earlier) and Edinburgh were excellent, really impressed with all their young riders. Massive well done to Kevin and the Redcar promotion - couldn’t have done a much better job in terms of organisation imo.

RECENTLY I was invited to meet a member of the BSPA to discuss their relationship with Speedway Star and, indeed, the media in general. I told him that in my opinion the BSPA had become more of a secret organisation than the Vatican. It is all well and good publishing daily news items, which are fine, but there is no official spokesperson for the BSPA empowered to make official statements. It is only after an AGM that any official announcements are made and then, a few days later, changes are often made which are not made public. They are their own worse enemy in this respect. It is no wonder that the general speedway public are suspicious and often put two and two together to make five because no one says otherwise. Quite often one promoter will say one thing and another something totally different. Many years ago when Martin Rogers, a journalist by trade, was a member of the BSPA Management Committee he would brief the media, and especially Speedway Star, after meetings, some of which was "off the record" but at least we would know exactly what was going on and could do our best to keep the paying punters properly informed. With regard to the current situation with Rye House ... I am sure there are people that know as much as I do, which frankly isn't much. But it is situations like this which the BSPA as an organisation handle so poorly. Of course, they can not be expected to release confidential information but just a holding statement along the lines of "the BSPA are in negotiations with the Rye House management to resolve their current difficulties and in the meantime their immediate fixtures have been suspended" would have been better than total silence which invites fans to draw their own, frequently inaccurate, conclusions. What is not in doubt is that British speedway is facing a crisis the like of which I have not witnessed in over 50 years of covering the sport.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL RIDERS,TEAMS AND SUPPORTERS TODAY MAY THE BEST 4s WIN . ALSO GOOD LUCK REDCAR SPEEDWAY IN HOSTING TODAYS EVENT

As Redcar were the only track to offer to host the event (according to Kevin Keay) they should at least get some credit for trying.

The majority of the Sky money went into Russell's pocket and put none of it back into the sport. If he had of done, Swindon wouldn't be in the $#!+ they are now, staring down the barrel of a gun.